India's defence minister in first trip to China in 7 years

Hindu activists protest against China in New Delhi on May 1, 2013. India's defence minister will lead a high-level delegation to China on Thursday, the first such trip in seven years, as the two sides ramp up efforts to rebuild trust after a recent flare-up over a border dispute.
(AFP/File)

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (R) and Defense Minister A.K. Antony are shown in New Delhi on May 22, 2013. A.K. Antony is expected to meet his Chinese counterpart during a three-day visit to China, and discussions are likely to include peace on their shared border as well as regional security issues, reports here said.
(Pool/AFP/File)

NEW DELHI (AFP) – India's defence minister will lead a high-level delegation to China on Thursday, the first such trip in seven years, as the two sides ramp up efforts to rebuild trust after a recent flare-up over a border dispute.

A.K. Antony is expected to meet his Chinese counterpart during the three-day visit, and discussions are likely to include peace on their shared border as well as regional security issues, reports here said.

The visit also coincides with a five-day trip by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to China, his first foreign visit since his May election.

Antony's trip is the first by an Indian defence minister since 2006 and comes after a spat between the two nuclear-armed neighbours in May over troop movements in a disputed Himalayan border region.

Delhi alleged Chinese troops intruded nearly 20 kilometres (12 miles) into Indian-claimed territory, triggering a three-week standoff that was resolved after talks between local military leaders, and a withdrawal of troops from both sides.

The Line of Actual Control has never been formally demarcated, although the sides have signed accords to maintain peace in the region that was the site of a brief Indo-Chinese war in 1962.

Antony is likely to visit the Chengdu Military Region Command in South Western China, charged with sections of the border with India, according to the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency.

Antony was also expected to hold negotiations on a Border Defence Cooperation Agreement, a new mechanism suggested by China last year for improving border security, PTI said.

His delegation, due to arrive in Beijing on Thursday evening, includes the defence secretary and top military commanders.

The trip comes after Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pledged to build trust with India, declaring that ties between the Asian giants were key to world peace, during a visit to New Delhi in May.

Li made India the first destination on his first foreign visit, since China's leadership change in March, which he said showed the importance that Beijing attached to ties with Delhi.

Last month, India's National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon held negotiations on the boundary issue with his counterparts in Beijing.